Eternal Blossom
by Cosette 24601
Summary: Love has no place in courts where everything is a political game. But when the High King makes the mistake of falling in love with the dryad princess, the devious dryad realm and especially her manipulative parents are sure to take advantage of it.
1. Once Upon a Time

**I've taken some liberties in describing how dryads work in Narnian world, so I hope you don't mind. This story correlates to one of my other stories, _The Mercenary, _although it starts earlier than that one. I'll try to not make them too redundant with each other for anyone who's reading both. As always, please review!**

**Heads up, I purposely made the main character somewhat an annoying character (goody two shoes, etc) at the beginning, but then she changes significantly during the story. So if you don't like her character at first, just hang in there and she'll get more interesting.**

**Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Narnia. **

Once upon a time, for that is how stories begin in Spare Oom and War Drobe, there was a dryad princess, Princess Aiyanna, the eldest child of dryad King Ahiga and dryad Queen Amitola, and sister of dryad Prince Yuma. She was born during the evil reign of the White Witch. Her parents, being the King and Queen, they were naturally the most powerful and practiced at woodland magic. Those surrounding them, the dryad nobles, were also masters of magic. Therefore, they had enough magic to keep the seasons regular where they lived and keep away the influence of the White Witch. As long as they chose to not interfere with the Witch, she left them alone, unsure if she would be able to defeat them. And the nymphs, the dryads and naiads, may not want the Narnians to die, but their long quarrels with them made them unlikely to want to help. Others dryads who were not so fortunate to have been born with their tree in that area chose to either follow, or pretend to follow, the Witch's reign or draw into themselves to eternal sleep.

One day, after hearing rumors for days of the appearance of the four Children of Adam and Eve, Aiyanna heard two young voices in the trees.

"How do you talk to the trees? Just randomly talk to a tree?" a voice asked.

Another, younger voice, said, "I'm not sure, Su. I guess we try that since we don't have any other choice."

"Seems a little silly to talk to a tree in eternal sleep," Aiyanna said, approaching the two girls. "Who are you? I am Aiyanna, crown princess of the dryads."

"Oh! Then hello, your highness. I'm Susan and this is Lucy. We're Queens of Narnia, according to, well most everyone who's told us we are. Or will be," the elder one said.

Aiyanna swept a well-practiced dryad curtsy and said, "Your highnesses. For what errand did you wish to speak to a tree?"

"Aslan's dead," the younger one said in a hollow voice.

Aiyanna gasped, "Impossible!"

The elder one nodded, "The Witch killed him on the Stone Table. You can come look and see if you wish, to prove that we're telling you the truth."

"Nay, I believe your word, your graces."

"Can you send someone to tell our brothers? They're expecting Aslan for the battle tomorrow!" Lucy cried, grabbing onto her arm. She quickly agreed and tapped into the magical nature of the Stone Table to use a dryad spell to travel as leaves. Aiyanna could have sent someone instead, but she was rather interested in seeing these legendary human kings for herself. She shifted into leaves and blew herself to where she had heard Aslan's camp was.

She found a tent that seemed fit for human kings and crept under. She flew about, letting a few of her leaves brush the boys' cheeks before assembling into her humanlike form and passing along the message. The elder boy at first reacted in shock, but quickly seemed to trust her, his gaze not leaving her even as she left.

Afterwards, the young princess went to her parents in hopes of rallying troops to fight alongside Aslan's army. Even though the dryads tended to care little for the affairs of humans, Aiyanna hoped that a new Narnian rule would bring the other Narnians and the nymphs – dryads and naiads – closer.

"Nay, we shall not fight if Aslan will not be there, my daughter. For without him, surely Narnia will fall," my father said gravely.

"Nay, father, I implore you, let us be what tips the scales in favor of the Narnians. With us, there is still a chance. Without us, the White Witch will get a secure grip upon all Narnia by wiping out her enemies at once and then our spring power may no longer be enough to protect us whence she can concentrate on fighting us."

"My daughter, you are too youthful to comprehend such things as battle," her father said, dismissing her. Aiyanna, ever the dutiful – too dutiful in fact – daughter, bowed her head and left.

* * *

><p>Princes Aiyanna, along with Lord Liwanu and an assortment of other dryads attended the coronation of the kings and queens as ambassadors. At that time, King Ahiga and Queen Amitola believed their sovereignty to be autonomous from the rest of Narnia and refused to acknowledge the kings and queens as their superiors, especially such young children, but rather viewed them as rulers of a separate state. The Naiads felt similarly, preferring to follow the river gods. The nymphs all did respect them however, and the leaders found it appropriate to send ambassadors. Lord Liwanu became the official dryad ambassador to Cair Paravel.<p>

"Hi! Um. Ah, would you care to dance? Milady?" the High King said awkwardly, walking up to Aiyanna.

"Your majesty, although I would prefer to not contradict a High King, the term is 'your highness' for a princess," she responded methodically. "And yes, your majesty, it would be my pleasure."

Peter wasn't sure what to make of her response, but led her out to the dance floor anyways. He supposed the other Narnians had been right when they warned them that the dryad nobles tended to be serious and unfriendly. Not to mention the older ones were apparently manipulative and conniving. But Aiyanna seemed like she was forcing her distant attitude, as though she knew it was expected of her as the dryad princess, so Peter held out hope that he could convince her to become friendlier.

"Your majesty, no offense, but are you quite sure you are thinking of the correct dance?' she asked, for he was missing almost every step. She had to find a way of saying it politely though, but she was well-practiced in the ways of court.

"It's alright Princess, you can say it. I'm horrible at dancing. I've never done this sort of dancing before," he explained. "Anyways, I asked you to dance because I wanted to thank you for delivering the message from my sisters, mil-your highness."

"You could have done that without embarrassing yourself on the dance floor, your majesty," she pointed out.

"You don't have to use my title if you don't want to, princess," he said suddenly.

"Then I suppose you need not use mine either," Aiyanna said, surprised. Dryad nobility was always very formal with titles except during their wild forest dances, but she was young enough to not yet care about titles and pomp and such as much.

"Excellent. Does this mean we're friends then?" he said with a genuine grin.

"I've never been friends with anyone who's not a dryad before," Aiyanna shyly confessed. Her parents generally looked down on other creatures, and Aiyanna hated letting them down so she minimized how often she had to consort with other creatures.

'Well, there's a first time for everything,' he said cheerfully while attempting to twirl her around. Somehow she ended up stuck in his arms, unable to twirl either way. He frowned, trying to figure out what to do from there.

"Uh, really sorry about this," he said awkwardly.

"How about we just sit down and partake in the delicious refreshments?" Aiyanna suggested, pushing his arms off of her gently. They walked over to the refreshments together and spoke for quite some time, mainly him asking questions about how the dryad realm work and her trying to deflect questions with potentially useful information without him realizing she was avoiding answering some of his questions.

"May I ask you a rather touchy question?" he asked. She frowned, but nodded her consent.

"Do you think there's going to be issues? Between the dryads, and naiads, and other Narnians?"

She stayed silent for a few seconds. He got nervous at the silence and backtracked, saying, "I'm sorry if that was an inappropriate question. I'm not quite used to this ruling this yet."

Aiyanna laughed. "Nor at dancing either so it seems. But yea, that was an inappropriate question. I should not answer it. But that does not mean I will not. I will say that you have a good reason to be worried. But let us not speak of such things now. Today is your coronation, a time for celebration. There will be much time for such worries and so little time for joyful days such as this one."

"As you wish, princess," he said, grabbing her wrist to lift her hand to his lips to kiss it. "I hope that you will visit often." Aiyanna was surprised by his forwardness, having only experienced the much more formal, much less friendly dryad nobility.

"I hope I can too. And you simply must visit the trees as well. But… you may want to learn how to dance better before joining in the wild woodlands dance," she smiled to soften the insult, but he was already laughing. She then joined in with a light laugh, glad to avoid the dangerous topic of the sedition that she was well aware was forming.

* * *

><p>Three years later, Aiyanna counted the Pevensies as being on her very limited list of friends. Well, mostly Peter. Edmund seemed to tolerate her but she could tell he was bored when around her. But Lucy was always a dear. Susan annoyed her often, but she still considered her a friend. Susan always wanted to have "girl talk" and prod Aiyanna about what males she was interested in. Did the queen not realize that royalty must marry the suitor that advances their political interests the farthest? Romantic interest hardly mattered, if at all. But Susan was the only female she felt comfortable complaining to when males annoyed her and such. And Peter she felt was genuinely her friend, which wasn't something she often felt about others. At first she was a bit annoyed that he always sought her out, but over time she grew fond of him and began finding reasons to visit Cair Paravel.<p>

She was at the age where crown princes and princesses in the dryad realm would travel to another court to learn their ways. Naturally, she begged her parents to allow her to travel to Cair Paravel. But she would have never imagined her parents would twist her year into one of their underhanded schemes.

"I'm sure you have heard rumors of the anger dryads have with the human king. He is far too young and inexperienced to rule. He has interpreted his title as 'High King over all Kings of Narnia' to mean sovereignty over the monarchies of the nymphs. We the king and queen of the dryads and Queen Maji, queen of the Naiads are much grieved by this grave insult," her father began.

"Father, I hardly think he has. Each time I have spoken with him he has been eager to please and wishes for peace in Narnia. He comprehends and emphasizes with our wishes of independence. If there is some insult, he may not know his actions were interpreted as such and an audience with him may clear confusion," Aiyanna said, daring to contradict her parents for the first time.

"He is two-faced," Ahiga said, growing angry that his ever dutiful daughter would contradict him. "He shows you, my daughter, a face very different than who he truly is. But that is to our advantage. The dryad council has noticed the Narnian King's affection towards you. Other than his sisters, you are the female he speaks with the most and with the most interest. He has sought you out even while he tries to evade other suitable females, and this is a weapon we can use to our advantage."

"I know it is not my place to contradict my father and king, but I hardly think so. We are friends and our relationship as friends works because we do not have emotions such as that of romantic love to complicate how we interact."

"But it may be just that which attracts him to you and makes your company preferential over other females," Queen Amitola said. Aiyanna briefly wondered if that had been the case of her parents. But she quickly dismissed the thought, knowing her parents had married for political reasons as had every dryad monarch before them.

"It pains me to see you so close to a man I do not approve of for my precious daughter. But with war on the horizon, as king, my duty is first to the dryads, as it is your first duty as my daughter and heir."

Aiyanna gritted her teeth. She did not want to displease her parents and the dryad council for they were right about it being her duty, but she was not eager to go against one of her very few true friends. "Of course I am loyal to the dryads and will do my part in ensuring our success if war is indeed inevitable."

"Daughter, you must do thus. Make the High King so utterly entranced by you that his attention to the war falters. A young boy enamored by his first infatuation has no business leading an army, which will make it easy for us to conquer and take back our right to our independence."

Aiyanna knew she'd probably regret speaking up, but felt she had to anyways. "But Father, is the High King not Aslan's chosen? Would we not be turning our back on the Great Lion who created us and holds all of us in his paws?"

King Ahiga frowned. "We do not seek to displace the king, only to keep our independence. As long as we do not try to dethrone him, we will keep our loyalty to the Great Lion."

"Mother and queen, what say you? Do you agree with my father's plan?" Aiyanna asked, hopeful that her mother's general silence meant disagreement.

"While I dislike using you as a weapon, I do not disagree about our need to fight back and it is my duty to let my daughter, the crown princess, defend her people in any way possible. For that reason, I fully support your father's plan of action, although I wish there was another way."

"Then I relish the chance to demonstrate my loyalty to the dryads and do my part in ensuring our success," Aiyanna said proudly, raising her hands and tossing her leaves.

"Well spoke, my daughter. And whatever passes between you and the Narnian king, remember where your true loyalties lie. He is two faced and is not truly in love with you. It is merely a lustful infatuation. You must not truly have any feelings towards him," her father warned.

"I have no romantic feelings towards him. I cared for him as a friend, but if he is indeed two-faced as you have said, then he has only befriended me with one of those faces, knowing I would despise the other, and therefore I shall not call him a friend any longer," Aiyanna said decisively. She still had her misgivings, but if both her parents said this course of action was best, then they must be right for they were much older and wiser than she was. Besides, her first duty was always to the dryads. Friendships simply got in the way.

"Friends," King Ahiga said, speaking the entire council. "Now that we know we will have my daughter working inside the castle, let us plan our next steps of war. Daughter, you are dismissed. Prepare yourself for your stay at Cair Paravel."

Aiyanna curtsied and left. She knew what she was: the crown princess of the dryads. She could not, would not, let her friendship with Peter hinder her from doing what was best for her people.


	2. Special Guests

Once upon a time there was a king. And this king was currently absolutely, positively bored, listening to dull petition after petition.

Susan said there were special guests arriving after the last petition was heard. Peter seriously could not care less at this point. It's not like he disliked being king, but it was so freaking tedious.

"Peter!" Susan hissed. Peter blinked. Oops, the petitioner was waiting for an answer. And Peter had missed most of the petition.

"My eldest royal sister will make the final decision," Peter fumbled. Susan glared at him, but spoke to the petitioners anyways. Peter thought he was off the hook, but then Susan took advantage of the commotion made by them leaving and the new petitioners entering to lean over to Peter and pinch him.

"Ow!" Peter complained.

"Pay attention!" she whispered. "We don't want to offend anyone!"

"I know! I know! It's just so boring," Peter complained in her ear.

"Well, the special guests today will perk you up," Susan whispered. She leaned back into her throne and grinned at him with a devious look. The four of them listened to a few more petitions, Peter actually attempting (with only a little success) to pay attention now.

"That's the final petition, your majesties. And your guests await outside to greet you," Mr. Tumnus said.

Lucy giggled and looked at Peter. Even Edmund straightened up in his throne. _Great, so Susan told everyone but me who these "special guests" are,_ Peter thought. _Well, I guess they must be pretty good if even Ed's interested. _

"Greetings, Kings and Queens of Narnia," the leader of the group exclaimed, reaching her arms out. Pete suddenly straightened up and grinned. It was his dearest friend, Aiyanna.

"It gladdens our hearts that you will be staying with us for a year," Susan said, peeking over towards Peter to see his reaction. Peter's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Susan continued with a smile, "Mr. Tumnus! Call the attendants to show our guests to their rooms."

"If you do not mind, I would like to stay and speak with High King Peter," Aiyanna said with a small smile.

Susan blinked in surprise. She hoped that perhaps Aiyanna was returning Peter's feelings for her. "Of course. We will leave."

"I would be delighted to speak with you!" Peter exclaimed. Aiyanna smiled calmly. After everyone else had left, he hugged her. After a moment's hesitation she hugged him back. Dryads rarely hugged as friends.

"I am very glad to stay at Cair Paravel," Aiyanna said shyly.

"I'm so glad too! Susan just told me 'special guests' were coming! I had no clue it would be, you know, someone I might actually want around," Peter said with a grin. "And this means you'll be here for the ball next week! Have you ever been to a human ball before? Coronation doesn't count."

"Nay, just woodland dances," Aiyanna lied. She had been before, but she needed Peter to pity her so he would be sure to offer to escort her. "I heard that the balls require escorts, so hopefully I can find an escort who would be helpful and kind enough to explain to me anything I'm unfamiliar with. Although I'm a bit worried. What if no one asks to escort me?"

"I'm sure you'll have the opposite problem of way too many men asking you," Peter said taking her hand and comfortingly rubbing it.

"What makes you say that, your majesty?" Aiyanna said flirtatiously.

"Well, um… well. You're rather um… tall," Peter stuttered, taken aback by her question. It wasn't like Aiyanna to ask such things.

"Tall?" she said a bit crossly. _Seriously? _

"Um… yeah. Tall is pretty, right?" Peter stammered, trying to correct himself.

"Are you saying you think I'm pretty?" Aiyanna said, shyly pulling her fingers through her hair.

"No, that would be an insult. You are beautiful," Peter said. Aiyanna blushed, genuinely taken aback by his compliment. "Every man is likely to ask you to the ball."

Aiyanna tried the opposite approach, since this was going in circles. "Do you know who you are planning to ask?"

"If I had my way, no one," Peter said. "Sometimes I really wish it was possible to challenge ladies to a duel and then just be done with them that way."

"Well, you'll just have to find someone who doesn't annoy you," she said suggestively. "And I do hope whoever it is that escorts me will not be someone I find annoying either."

"Hey, Ana," Peter suddenly said. "Let's go to the ball together! I mean, if that is pleasing to your highness."

Aiyanna feigned surprise and said, "If your majesty wishes it." Her plans were in motion.

* * *

><p>"We're to start off the dancing," Peter said at the beginning of the ball, leading her out onto the dance floor where his siblings and their escorts joined them.<p>

"I think I rather enjoy this ball," Aiyanna said after a few minutes. "Are you at least finding it bearable?"

Peter smirked. "More than bearable. Can't I just dance with you all night?"

"Truly? The monotony of dancing with only one girl would not bore you?" Aiyanna said with the edge of her lips curling into a smile. Peter couldn't resist smiling back.

"Not if she is you."

"Well, dancing with you, milord, is never monotonous. I never know at what point you may step on my toes," Aiyanna teased. They bantered as they danced together for a few more songs.

"We should dance with others soon," Aiyanna said. "But by midnight our duties to dance with any others will have been fulfilled. Let us meet again then?" Aiyanna said, wanting to be sure that Peter would return to her.

"Yes!" Peter said eagerly. "Meet me on the terrace."

A few dances later, one of the young dryad lords, Lord Nahele asked her to dance. Aiyanna gladly accepted. She and Nahele had grown up together and more than a few dryads had gossiped about the likelihood of him asking to court her, especially since none of his line had been royal in generations and were causing arguments. But then again, they would gossip forever about any noble dryad who as much as looked at her. And Nahele seemed to simply see her as a friend.

"Princess, we heard your conversation. Wait until a bit after midnight. Make _him_ wait for you. And you are to make your move tonight. After hearing the reports of how he has responded to your advances thus far, Lady Zitkala believes that you will be able to move forward faster than we anticipated," he informed me. Aiyanna sighed. She should've known Nahele had only asked her to dance to inform her of Zitkala's instructions.

"And by moving forward she means….?" Aiyanna asked dutifully.

"Less subtle hints of your fake intentions towards him. Try to naturally slip it into a conversation," Nahele said. "Indeed, I agree with her; the time is ripe. See how the High King glares at me for dancing with you." Surely enough, Peter was looking over at them, annoyed.

"Should we make him jealous?" Aiyanna said with a hint of amusement in her voice.

"If your highness wishes it," Nahele said agreeably, a small smile tugging the edge of his lips. He tended to be more fun than most noble dryads. He deftly danced her over towards being within earshot of Peter, being careful to not be too obvious. They instantly made up some story about some supposed woodlands celebration, Peter getting more upset by the second.

Ten minutes after midnight, Aiyanna walked to the terrace, pretending to be hurrying when she got close.

"Your majesty, please pardon my lateness," she said calmly with a curtsy, but her heart was pounding inside from anticipation.

"I'm just glad you made it, princess. For a moment I thought you were going to ditch me for Nahele," he said, smoothly taking her hand into his and bowing to kiss it, linger just a second longer than was appropriate.

"And I thought you might not be here and rather spend the night with Lady Emelina," Aiyanna teased.

"I'd completely avoid that one if I could," Peter disagreed. "She's the type of girl I could never be even friends with. But I can't afford to offend her father."

"You categorize girls as ones you could be friends with and ones you can't?" Aiyanna asked seemingly innocently.

"I guess you could say so," Peter said ruefully.

"And I, my lord?" Aiyanna asked, inching towards him.

"You...um… what was the question?" Peter said, suddenly distracted by how close they were, despite having been just as close with every girl he had danced with earlier.

"I assume I fall in the category of girls you could be friends with?" she said sweetly, leaning her head in.

"Um... no... I mean… you have a special third category, all to yourself," Peter said, grabbing her hand to pull her in towards him again.

"And what would that be, my lord?" Aiyanna asked in a demure manner.

"How about you guess?" Peter said a twinkle in his eye. Aiyanna had a fairly good guess, based on it being the very reason she had been sent there. But she was unsure why he was playing games. Perhaps he wanted to be sure of her feelings before revealing his?

"I'll give you a hint, Ana" Peter said hesitantly after Aiyanna's silence. "It's better than either of the other two categories."

"I think I'd like to wager a guess, your majesty," Aiyanna said slowly.

"Yeah?"

Aiyanna leaned in and kissed Peter on the lips..

* * *

><p>Edmund saw Peter sneak out of the ball, and then a little while after, Aiyanna snuck out the same direction. <em>Well, this is a new development, <em>he thought with a smirk. _The two biggest good two shoes I know sneaking out?_ Ok, maybe it was a coincidence, but Edmund just had to go spy on them. Normally Peter getting the girl would annoy him, but this was Ana. Sure, he liked her a lot better than the annoying girls who threw themselves at him because of his title, but too be honest, he found her boring. And too much of a goody-two-shoes. So in short, perfect for Peter. Although he saw her and Peter laughing earlier, which was also quite a new development. Usually when Ana laughed it seemed uncertain, like she was unaccustomed to laughing. Come to think of it, she probably wasn't used to laughing. The regular dryads were fun, but the nobles? Forget it.

Edmund finally found them and his jaw fell open. Kissing? Heck, he could barely believe the two of them would spend time alone together. He'd expect Ana to be all upset over the breach of propriety by being alone with a man. Kissing without being in a courtship? That was scandalous by any Narnian's standards. He leaned in to see better, wanting to get more information to tease Peter with.

* * *

><p>Peter could hardly believe his luck. He had assumed she had no interest in him. Well, not that sort of interest. But now here she was, kissing him passionately, although a bit awkwardly. He realized she had probably never kissed a boy before, being a bit of a prude. He was kinda surprised she would put her hands around her neck, kissing her much more passionately than she had him. This kiss was much sweeter. Peter never wanted to stop.<p>

Aiyanna was torn. On one hand, she was delighted that the dryads' plotting had worked so incredibly well. On the other hand, she now had absolutely no excuse for not going through with it. But… he was a rather good kisser. Aiyanna jealously wondered what other girls he had kissed before.

Suddenly Peter and Aiyanna heard a crash. They turned and saw Edmund standing up from the ground, a sheepish grin on his face.

"Um… hey….. I just… um… hi." Ed stammered awkwardly. He felt guilty when Aiyanna hide her face in her hands.

"Ed, just go," Peter said frustrated.

Edmund happily left the awkward scene.

"Lucy! Lucy!" he hissed when he saw his sister. He signaled for her to follow him and they snuck into a side room. "You won't believe what I just

* * *

><p>"Sorry about that," Peter whispered, trying to pry Aiyanna's fingers off of her face. "Ed just… Ana, c'mon. Can't we just pretend him interrupting us never happened?"<p>

Aiyanna stayed silent, having absolutely no clue what to do from here. She knew there was no way to keep a relationship with the High King secret for long, but she didn't think that it would be this short of a time before her reputation was ruined.

"Ana, please," Peter whispered, finally being able to pull her fingers off of her face.

"My apologies, I didn't mean to react so," Aiyanna said, taking a breath to steady herself.

"You're not upset over our kiss though?" Peter asked tentatively.

Aiyanna knew she had no choice but to reassure Peter that she was not upset over it, but she hesitated a moment anyways. "No, of course not, milord. It was… interesting."

Peter grimaced. _Interesting? _But hey, at least she had actually kissed him. "But you enjoyed it, right, princess?" He ran his fingers through her hair, looking over her face.

"Yes, of course, your majesty," Aiyanna said, smoothing the skirt of her dress to give her something other than the startling intensity of Peter's eyes to look at.

"Would…. Would you want to kiss again, your highness?" he asked.

Aiyanna repressed a sigh. "Yes, your majesty."

Peter leaned in and kissed her again. Aiyanna willingly kissed him back, but with much less passion than Peter. She did in fact enjoy it, but it was accompanied by pangs of guilt.

Peter finally pulled away from her, but only to move down to her neck and kiss her collarbone. Aiyanna ran her fingers through his hair. His warm breath on her neck was oddly comforting. His hands wandered about the sides of her body, tracing odd patterns on her leaves. He eventually pulled away, gasping for breath. After a moment, he looked as though he was about to go on with kissing her, but Aiyanna put her hands on his chest to stop him.

"Peter, I… I can't. This isn't right. We are not courting, so we should not do such things. I am sorry that I kissed you. I should not have acting such," she said. Since Edmund was obviously not going to be able to keep his mouth shut, they might as well have a public courtship. Aiyanna had hoped to not deal with such awkwardness, but it was better than having her spotless reputation on the line.

"Ana, you need to learn to have fun sometimes," Peter said, leaning in again for a kiss. She pushed him back again.

"Nonetheless, I must insist you cease," she said evenly.

"Or… we could officially court each other," Peter suggested. "Would you like that?"

Aiyanna faked a smile and snaked her arms around his neck. "Of course I would."

"I will ask you officially in the morning in the Throne Room," Peter stated.

"I worry about what the other dryads will think," she lied, knowing fully well that their reaction would be to congratulate her for accomplishing her mission so well.

"And the court at Cair Paravel," Peter agreed, a bit nervous. "But it's my choice and it's your choice, so each group will just have to go along with it."

"Indeed," Aiyanna said with a smile that did not meet her eyes. "Now, if you would excuse me, I should retire for the night. Therefore I will be well rested for our announcement in the morning."

Peter smiled and gave her one last kiss. "Farewell. I simply cannot wait."

As soon as she left, Aiyanna sought out Lady Zitkala to tell her of the latest developments. Aiyanna thought she would be pleased, but her frown only deepened.

"A public courtship would ruin the rest of our plan," she muttered a bit angrily.

"What do you mean by the rest of our plan?" she asked, confused. "There… there was more to the plan that I was not told of?"

"Indeed, your highness. We didn't tell it to you because we thought you might not agree to coming to Cair Paravel if you knew it was part of the plan. I was to tell you later, but your relationship with the High King moved much more swiftly than I had anticipated."

"What was the rest of the plan?!" Aiyanna exclaimed. "I demand you tell me of it this instant!"


	3. Plans Unravelling

Lucy skipped as she went to go see Aiyanna. She was so excited that one of her brothers was finally interested in a girl! Well, Ed was interested in several girls, but not like this. And granted, there were other girls that Lu would have preferred to have as a future sister who would've played with Lucy and been fun, but Aiyanna was super nice and Peter was so happy with her! She heard yelling in Aiyanna's room, which seemed rather unusual, and decided to wait outside and listen first.

"I don't even know how to seduce boys! How do you think I could pit them against each other that way?" Aiyanna shouted. Lucy's eyes widened. Aiyanna was always docile and composed. If she was actually shouting, something must be very wrong. And what was this about … _seducing boys?_

"Just having the High King alone is not enough. You may be able to distract him, but the younger King is also capable of war," another voice said. Lucy tried to pinpoint it. Lady… _oh what was her name?!_- Zitika? Zilaka? Something with a Z.

"So are the two queens," Aiyanna hissed. Again, this was rather out of character for her. Something must be incredibly wrong. "Am I supposed to try to seduce them too?"

Lucy gasped as she pieced it together. Aiyanna didn't actually love Peter?!

"Don't be ridiculous," Lady Z- hissed. "If they do become a threat, we will send for Prince Yuma."

"Now my young brother is to be part of this mess?" Aiyanna cried. "Is it not enough that I am forced into this dangerous and uncomfortable position, now he must too?"

Lucy was somewhat relieved to know that Aiyanna was being somehow forced into this. But it would still break Peter's heart to know Ana was only playing him!

"Prince Yuma would be glad to do his duty in aiding the nymphs in the upcoming war, as are you," Lady Z- said sternly. _War?!_

"Say what you will, but now that Peter and I are soon to be in a public courtship, I clearly cannot be seen with his brother, who is too loyal to him to betray him such and is not interested in the likes of me for any romantic relationship anyways. Have one of the other dryads or a naiad seduce him if you must. I cannot."

Lucy knew she had to warn her siblings. About the war, about being seduced… but at the same time, Ana was her friend! And it would break Peter's heart.

"So be it," Lady Z- said. Lucy quickly ducked behind a curtain so the dryad would not know that she had been listening. The dryad stormed passed, angrily leaving a path of leaves on accident.

"Who's there?" Aiyanna called, noticing a movement in the curtains. She walked up to the curtain and pulled it back to find Lucy. Her eyes widened. "Queen Lucy… why?... Did… did you hear what we were talking about?"

Lucy slowly nodded. "It'll break Peter's heart if he finds out! Why… why is there going to be a war?" she said, deciding to go with the least personal question first. Aiyanna gestured for Lucy to come into her room and then shut the door behind them.

"You are aware of how the nymphs enjoy some autonomy from your rule?" she inquired. She wasn't sure how knowledgeable the youngest queen would be on such things. Lucy nodded, so she continued. "Apparently your brother, the High King, has been overreaching with his power and angering my people. They are particularly angered because they also believe him too young and inexperienced to have any power over them – not that I agree with that part of it."

"Peter wouldn't! I mean… yeah his power is getting to his head a bit, but he would never do anything against the dryads, because… well, because of you. He wouldn't want to make you mad," Lucy said, grabbing Aiyanna's hands.

"My parents were rather sure of it," Aiyanna said uncertainly. "They would not seek war without cause."

"Maybe… maybe there's some misunderstanding. Talk to Peter! He would listen to you." Lucy said eagerly. "I'll make a deal with you."

"Yes?"

"You probably don't want Peter to know that you were plotting against him, or about the possibility of a war. And – what was that?" Lucy said. She had just heard some noise outside. Aiyanna peeked outside, but saw nothing unusual, so Lucy continued. "And I don't want him to be heartbroken nor do I want a war. So you go talk to him about the perceived overreaching of power, and I will say nothing about your plot."

"You would do that? You would keep this secret from your family? Why?"

"I already said why! Plus, I have a feeling you wouldn't be doing this entirely voluntarily, so I don't want you to get in trouble either."

"Would you permit me to talk it over with the other dryads before agreeing?" Aiyanna asked.

"Of course."

The other dryads begrudgingly agreed that they had no choice but to accept Queen Lucy's deal.

Aiyanna hoped to speak with Peter at once, but his guards said he would not have time for her until that afternoon, which would be after the announcement of their courtship. Aiyanna had hoped to get this over with in hopes it would end their courtship before it even began, but it looked like that was not to happen.

Aiyanna's maids helped her get ready for the announcement, giving her encouragement that it was not bad. They might as well have been silent though, for all the comfort it gave her. Soon she was in the Throne Room, Peter's siblings at his side as his council and the highest ranking soldiers in attendance. Lucy gave Aiyanna a little wink, which she found a bit odd.

"Narnians, you may wonder why Princess Aiyanna and several of the dryads are here. I invited them to come, so I might ask the princess something that is dear to my heart. Princess Aiyanna, I entreat thee to come forward to me."

"Gladly, your majesty," she said, walking up to his throne. Peter rose to his feet and held up a necklace. The court gasped at the sight of how expensive this necklace must have been. The dwarves had really outdone themselves on making it.

"This necklace is to signify our courtship. If you should choose to accept it, we will officially commence our courtship," Peter said solemnly.

Aiyanna hesitated. To deny the necklace would allow her to terminate the courtship before it even began. She glanced back and saw the younger dryads, who better understood her reluctance to enter into a false courtship, looked sympathetic. But the elder dryads looked at her sternly, giving her no choice. She took a breath and faced Peter with a smile. "Of course, your majesty. I willingly accept this courtship."

Peter grinned widely. He put a hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her around to face the court. He then placed the necklace around her neck and fumbled a bit with the clasp in back. He then stepped around and took her hand into his and raised it. The Narnian court cheered loudly. The dryads clapped politely.

As it was the last order of the business, the court disbanded after this announcement. Several Narnians, including all three of Peter's siblings, approached Aiyanna with congratulations and warm welcomes. Peter was the subject of much teasing – mainly from his brother – and congratulations. But there was one particular person who approached him who stood out.

"Lady Fylinia," he said to the badger who approached him.

"Your majesty, I overheard some… important information about the Princess Aiyanna which I must tell you in private."

"Alright," Peter said. "Tomorrow."

"It is rather important information," she pressed.

"Is she in danger?" Peter asked quietly.

"No, sire."

"Then, tomorrow." He strode off to his office where he knew a large pile of work was waiting for him. A little while later, he heard a knocking and looked up to see Aiyanna standing by the door.

"Come in, Ana," Peter said with a big grin as his beloved came to his study.

"Working on papers?" she asked.

"As always," he said, pulling her in and closing the door. He then tried to pin her to the wall to kiss her.

"Peter, please," Aiyanna begged, gently pushing him off of her.

"Sorry. Probably should've romantically worked up to that or something?" Peter said hesitantly.

"I… It's alright, Peter. But I came here to ask you about something, not to… you know," she said blushing.

"Ask me anything," Peter said gallantly, taking her hand and kissing it. Aiyanna couldn't resist smiling a little. He led her to a comfortable couch and sat down beside her.

"What is it?"

"My… my parents don't… approve of you," she said slowly. His face fell.

"So you think they would not approve of our courtship?" He knew she would never do anything her parents would not want.

"I'm allowed to choose my own suitors, as long as they are of a suitable rank, which makes you more than qualified," she said with a smile. "But… they think you have… overstepped into their authority."

"In what way?" he asked silently.

"So you do not deny it?" Aiyanna said a bit coldly.

"Ana! Please, believe me I would never do anything against you or your family. I only asked in what way in case I did so unknowingly," he cried out. Aiyanna looked deep into his eyes, trying to see if he was telling the truth or not. He either was, or was trying to convince himself that he was.

"Why do I not fully believe you?" Aiyanna said, just a bit of sadness in her voice.

"Ana, if there's anything, please! Tell me, and I will fix it expediently," he said gallantly, placing a fist across his chest in a sort of pledge.

"I will write to my parents in hopes that they will begin more open communication with you in the future," she said with a smile. Perhaps this could solve all the problems and Aiyanna's treachery would never come to light. "In fact, I will go at once." She sprung up and began walking to the door.

"Wait… one little kiss? Please?" Peter said with a sad puppy-dog look. Aiyanna couldn't resist grinning, despite her reluctance to let this false courtship continue any further.

She leaned in and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Farewell."

"I hope you are free for dinner tomorrow?" Peter said, grabbing her hand. "I can rearrange my schedule."

Aiyanna hesitated. "I do not think I could get a response from my parents that quickly," she said. She quickly ran off, before he could tell her that she had misinterpreted his words and try to ask her to dinner again.

Peter sighed. It seemed like Aiyanna was already regretting the speed of their relationship. He gestured for one of his guards to come over.

"Send for Lady Fylinia if she is available. It seems I have some room in my schedule right now to see her after all."


	4. Growing Up

**This chapter has parts that line up with my other story _The Mercenary, _from the chapter "An Angry Faun" to the chapter "Starting Over." This is also where major character development happens in the form of a time montage. **

Peter didn't believe her. Didn't want to believe her. It made no sense anyways, because what Lady Fylinia told him implicated _Lucy_ in plotting or at least covering up a plot against him. Not that he even believed that Aiyanna would ever plot against him. She was so innocent, so virtuous. So… gullible and willing to do whatever her parents told her… and she had mentioned her parents not liking him much. So it was possible… but it still made no sense why it seemed Lucy had something to do with it.

"Tumnus! I need you to push back everything on my schedule. There is something I need to deal with immediately."

"Yes, sire," the faun said, giving him a quizzical look. Peter ran out towards Aiyanna's room. The door was ajar, so he quietly pushed it open. Aiyanna was so focused on the letter she was reading that she didn't notice him as he walked towards her. He fell to one knee beside her and was about to surprise her by grabbing her and kissing her cheek when he noticed that she was crying. He glanced at the letter she was reading, assuming that was the reason for her sadness and was horrified by what he read.

_Dearest daughter and our heir, _

_Thou art foolish and gullible. The Narnian High King has tricked thee into believing that he has good intentions. Thou should have believed him not. Carry on with the plan we conferred with thee on and stray no more. Allow this silly little queen to believe you now are courting for love, not for our plan. She is young; we believe her likely to believe such things. Forget this not: thy loyalty is to us and the dryad kingdom, not to a human boy. Do as we have told thee and believe not a word he says. _

_Signed_

_King Ahiga and our royal wife Queen Amitola_

"Ana?" Peer said in a wounded voice. She gasped and turned around, distraught to find him there.

"Peter!" she cried, hastily stuffing the letter in the folds of her dress.

"Don't bother," he said bitterly. "I already read all of it."

"I did what I had to," she said flatly, walking away from him.

"Did what you had to? Ana, how could you?! Why would you do something like this?" Peter said, pounding on a dresser.

"Because my loyalty is first to the dryads, as it should."

"It should be to doing the right thing," Peter protested.

"Then you are a hypocrite," Aiyanna said coldly. Peter stepped back, like he had been slapped in the face.

"What?! Ana, if this is about what we were talking about earlier, I swear I've done nothing! At least not that I know of! And you should talk to me, not whatever this plan is! I… your parent were right in saying that you were foolish and gullible. Except it wasn't I that tricked you. It was them," Peter said. She turned to him in shock and he just shook his head in disgust and stormed out the door. She fell on her bed, weeping. She could only hope that he was wrong. But then again, part of her wanted him to be right, that he was the man she had thought she was before her parents changed her view of him. But what did she know? They were right about her being foolish and gullible. And it made it impossible for her to know who had tricked her.

* * *

><p>Peter had no choice, right? He had to banish them. After talking with Lucy, he found out about the plans for the war and such and that Aiyanna's purpose in being there was to seduce him to distract him from preparing for the war. Thankfully, one thing Lucy said alleviated his anger a bit: Aiyanna seemed upset that she was forced to do this. Of course she had been. Peter was right in thinking she would never have done such a thing willingly. But the fact remained, she had, and therefore the dryads had to be banished from Cair Paravel for treason. But it hurt. He still wanted Aiyanna there at his side. She was supposed to be there for a year, and it had barely been a month. Thankfully, he had not been banished from the dryad courts. He still saw her during woodlands dances, but she tried to avoid him.<p>

"Princess Aiyanna, why do you avoid me?" he finally asked after about 6 months of her purposely finding ways of avoiding him.

"High King, why do you seek me? I betrayed you, although you seem to have forgotten," she said in a detached voice.

"Your highness, it is because I do not want anymore animosity between us. Do you truly believe that I would ever act against you?"

"Your majesty banished me," she pointed out.

"After you betrayed me. But I could lift the ban. Perhaps now is too soon, but eventually it will be long enough that it would not seem unusual," he said.

"And do you expect me not to believe my parents when they say you overstep your authority?" she asked.

"I expect you to believe what your heart tells you is the truth," Peter said. Okay, they weren't actually his words. After he had moped around for several weeks, Susan decided to help him out with being more romantic so that he might be able to have another chance with her. Even though Susan thought it should be Ana seeking him, not the other way around. But she really got tired of Peter being dejected and complaining all the time. She had also insisted that Peter allow the dryad ambassador Lord Liwanu back into Cair Paravel or a dryad upraising would be almost unavoidable. Thankfully though, it seemed the dryads were too embarrassed by this incident, and the naiads did not feel strong enough to act alone. And a few years later when it looked like there might be another attempt at a war, a drought came which made the dryads and naiads too weak to think of war.

There were several awkward interactions between Aiyanna and Peter every time they met. Aiyanna was loath to speak against her parents, but something in her heart told her that Peter was being honest with her, or at least thought he was being honest.

At the same time, they were both maturing. This incident at Cair Paravel had marked Aiyanna. She was not the innocent goody-two-shoes she had once been. She soon became adept at navigating the treachery and backstabbing that goes on at courts. If she had been that adept when her parents had first sent her, she would not have failed. But she had not fully changed. She still had good intentions even if she was much sneaker and manipulative than she was before. And she was able to easily put on a mask of being just as sweet and innocent as she used to be.

When Lord Liwanu died, Peter sent word to the dryad court, asking for Aiyanna to be instated in his place. The dryads were all suspicious of such a request, but Aiyanna pointed out that they could change who their ambassador was at any point in time, so if something went wrong they could just instate another dryad. And Aiyanna was seven years older and smarter about such things now, so a disaster was unlikely to happen again, especially since her awkwardly courting Peter wasn't involved.

* * *

><p>On the way, Aiyanna was accosted by a group of men. Because she was going as an ambassador, not a court visit, she had decided on traveling alone, but now that did not seem like it was such a good idea.<p>

"Please allow me along my way," she said coldly. She could use her woodland magic to fight them, but aggressive magic was always so draining and she wasn't particularly close to the woods which also weakened her powers. If she had to use magic to fight them, she would not have the strength to walk the rest of the way to Cair Paravel.

"Ah, c'mon gorgeous. Don't you wanna stay awhile? Have some fun girlie," a drunk leered at her.

"I said, allow me on my way," she said, trying to push past them. One of the men grabbed some leaves on her head to keep her with them. She was about to try to call up some magic to fight them when a man and a leopard came to her rescue. She did not recognize the name of the leopard – Arianis – but the name of the man shocked her. Darius had been one of the names that the dryads whispered fearfully during the last few years of the reign of the White Witch. However, he had seemed to disappear until Aiyanna had heard something about him being involved in an assassination attempt against Peter and Susan more recently. But he seemed to be genuinely worried about her safety and he had rescued her from the men, so she travelled willingly with him and the leopard, although she remained cautious. Lucy was there to greet them, although she was surprised to see Aiyanna accompanied by Darius and Arianis. She insisted they all have tea and tell her all about what happened until she released Darius and Arianis to go about their duties.

"So…would that be _the_ Darius?" Aiyanna asked the moment he left the room.

"I have no clue what you mean," Lucy said.

"The mercenary that the White Witch used to threaten those who displeased her? The one who according to what I heard tried to assassinate your eldest brother and sister," she asked.

"Oh! Then yes, that's him. He's really nice and helpful," Lucy said. Aiyanna just looked at her incredulously. Lucy then sighed and explained everything that happened.

"My, that is quite a story," she said, rubbing her head which was still sore.

"Is something the matter with your head?" Lucy asked politely.

"It's just a bit sore from the men pulling my leaves," she explained.

"Oh! We should get something for that," Lucy exclaimed, jumping out of her chair and gesturing for Aiyanna to follow her. "But why did you not use your magic to heal it?"

"It's difficult to perform magic on myself where I can't see what I am doing," Aiyanna explained as they walked down to get healing supplies. On the way they ran into Tisell hurriedly fetching supplies.

"Tisell, whatever is the matter?" Lucy asked.

"Her majesty Queen Susan asked me to treat the mercenary Darius," she explained looked for the supplies she needed.

"What? I saw him just a short while ago," Lucy said in confusion.

"Captain Sirius gave him a beating because he saw Darius sneaking around the castle when he was not supposed to. Probably would have killed him too if we hadn't ridden up in time and Queen Susan decided to interfere," she explained breathlessly.

"But he was accompanying me!" Aiyanna exclaimed.

"Yeah, we should go tell Su that straightaway," Lucy said.

"Your sister wanted you anyways. But oh dear!" Tisell suddenly said. "We are rather low on herbs."

"It's no matter. I will heal him. After all, it is my fault he got into trouble," Aiyanna offered.

"Alright!" Lucy said cheerfully. If Susan had said she wanted Lucy there, then that definitely meant she would've sent for Peter. And Aiyanna would know that… so Aiyanna being so willing to go to near where Peter was when she didn't have to must be a good sign! Unless… Aiyanna had a thing for Darius because he saved her… Hopefully not. Of course not. Ana and Peter belonged together! Peter would never have admitted to it, but he had been in an incredibly good mood since finding out Ana was returning to Cair Paravel.

Lucy was disappointed that Aiyanna seemed trying to avoid speaking to Peter as much as possible as she helped heal Darius and everything else that went along.

She ran into Peter later that day.

"Um, hi," he said.

"Good evening," she said, looking at the painting to avoid his gaze. "Do you know who painted this painting?"

"If you're living here you're not going to be able to avoid me," he blurted out.

"No, I suppose not," she said. "How about… how about we start over? Hello, I'm Peter."

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Aiyanna," she said, the edges of her lips curling into a smile.

"Care to dance?"

"No, I fear you would be a horrible dancer," Aiyanna said, grinning. Peter laughed.

"You're probably right."

"High King? Your brother sent me to find you," a monkey said, walking up to the two of them.

"Well, I guess I've got to go," Peter said apologetically. He took her hand and kissed it while she gave him a small curtsy.

"Farewell."

The few days later, Susan sent a bird to fetch her.

"Queen Susan," Aiyanna said in what she hoped was an emotionless voice as she entered Susan's private room.

"Princess Aiyanna," Susan said, gesturing towards a chair. "Please sit. My lady-in-waiting Liesel is fetching refreshments and some snacks."

"Let's dispense with the niceties and get to the point. Why did you really tell your brother to invite me here? I know it must have been you," Aiyanna said.

"My… you've changed," Susan mused. "But yes, it was my idea. I heard murmurings of another potential nymph uprising. Don't bother deny it. I have several verifiable sources and won't believe a word of your protests against it. Also, I don't know how much Lucy told you, but Darius was sent by Calormens and a Calormen assassin tried to kill my brother this week. Our spies have told us that they think that Calormen is likely to strike again soon. Narnia can't afford two wars simultaneously, and I believe it is in both of our best interests that we ally ourselves against the Calormens. I am willing to push away the past – which indeed is rather distant now – in order to make an alliance of sorts to prevents such a thing from occurring."

"What sort of alliance?"

"I know it ended… disastrously last time, but I believe it's been enough time that you and my brother could potentially court once again, with the idea of a future marriage to unite at least the dryads and Narnians, if not all nymphs and Narnians."

"The nymphs prefer to be separate from Narnian rule, and his marriage to me would allow him to some power over the dryads at least," Aiyanna said, using that excuse to make it seem like her emotions were not caught up in this mess. What a twisted idea for Susan to have.

"And you would be able to have some power over Narnians," Susan countered. "And you and Peter could work out just how much power each of you has over each other's subjects."

"Perhaps. But there still remains the problem, isn't Peter courting Duchess Veronique of Galma?"

"He's courted a few girls since you. But each ended. You may be surprised to know that yours was not the most disastrous end to a courtship that Peter has had," Susan said. Aiyanna raised an eyebrow, but refused to comment and act interested in Peter's love life – or lack thereof.

"And does Peter know you are trying to set us up again?" Aiyanna asked, her voice coming out colder than she meant.

"Well… no… but I'm sure he'd get over it quickly. Don't worry. I'll tell him it was my idea so he doesn't think you're… you know what… again. So… are you agreeing to do this?"

"Of course not," Aiyanna said.

"Why ever not?" Susan said. She had one last point to bring up that she didn't really want to bring up. She hoped that just maybe Aiyanna really had romantic interest in her brother that she was forced to hide for her parents' sake, but damn it, Susan was going to use everything she could to make this courtship happen. She knew Peter was still very interested in Aiyanna, and she wanted her brother to be happy. "You yourself once told me that you do not wish to marry for love but rather for your peoples' gain, and what more could they gain than being so represented and honored at Cair Paravel?"

"You are right," Aiyanna conceded. Susan smugly nodded. Aiyanna had to see the wisdom of such a union. Now just to make it so Aiyanna actually cared about Peter again. Susan was already planning the romantic gestures her brother could make when Aiyanna continued, "Which is why rather than waiting to fall in love, I have been making preparations to marry in order to assuage one of the dryad clans which has been angry that none of their kin has been a part of the dryad royal family for three millennia."

"What do you mean?" Susan said, rising from her chair.

Aiyanna leaned back in her chair and smiled. She rather enjoyed surprising Susan so. "I am to marry Lord Nahele."


	5. Plots and Secrets

**If you're also reading my story _The Mercenary,_ then this has major spoilers for that one. **

Nahele looked at his betrothed. She was dressed in what he could only assume was an attractive dress to most males, her hair and leaves artistically flowing down her back, but as usual he felt nothing. They were just outside the outskirts of Cair Paravel, where Aiyanna had arranged to meet him secretly. He went to place the customary kiss to the cheek that two betrothed dryads greet each other with, but she interrupted with, "You don't have to if you don't want to."

He pulled back, relieved, and merely greeted her instead with kissing her hand like a regular courtier. "Why did you summon me, your highness?"

"Queen Susan's still trying to set me up with Peter," Aiyanna said, rolling her eyes.

"And the High King?"

"I've hardly spoken to him, but I doubt he knows what his sister was doing. But Susan would know her brother's heart better than even he would, so if she wants us together, then he must too, secretly," she said calmly, as though merely commenting on the weather. If it wasn't for her hand twitching agitatedly, Nahele would have thought that the princess had no feelings towards this matter.

"Perhaps you should take her advice," he said slowly. Aiyanna looks at him with one eyebrow raised, her leaves curling towards him.

"I can only marry one person," she teased lightly, running her fingers through his hair.

"We both know that this marriage is for political reasons and – "

"I know," Aiyanna interrupted. "But both are very real reasons. Should the dryad feud amongst themselves, we will be quickly weakened. And should your secret come out, you will be expulsed from society. Unless you have some other wife in mind who can keep your secret?"

"Don't be ridiculous. And we don't actually know what the others would think of my secret, should it come out. I think you should seriously consider Queen Susan's offer," he said.

"Nahele! If I should marry the High King, by dryad custom he would gain significant power from inside our structure. He already has power as High King to pressure us from outside our structure and – "

"Is that so bad?" Nahele interrupted. Aiyanna drew back and looked at him in shock. He hesitated, then decided on pulling out his medallion from his pocket. He held it out for her to see. There was a lion surrounded by trees winding around him. Aiyanna slowly turned the medallion over in her hands, her quick eyes missing no details.

"Dryads and trees, combined together. Dryads… deferring a bit to the symbol of the High King," she said slowly. The lion could mean Aslan, but she knew the artist would never use the same version used as the High King's symbol unless it was completely intentional.

Nahele bit his lip uncertainly. He hated that he was the representative for his group, but he was the only one who could easily get an audience with the princess and had the best chance of speaking frankly with her with impunity… hopefully. The princess had unfortunately been a bit capricious of late. "There are several of us, mainly dryads and naiads, but we have also gathered a few Narnians to work with us when necessary. We are sick of this eternal war, wrought with death and hatred amongst our own extended brethren. We see Aslan's naming of Peter as a High King as a sign. The one so powerful, so magnificent that he could unite all of us, nymphs and Narnians alike, under one rule. But we aren't enough to convince them to join Narnians without reason. We need to make them feel that it is the best course of action. And for that, we need someone with influence. When the others found out I was so close to you, they asked me if they thought you would keep secrets for me, to which of course I said yes. I mean, you already are for … that other thing. And we all know of your previous… erm… courtship with the High King, and believe that you uniting with him in marriage could be one such possible path to such peace and probably the easiest, even though it's probably not going to be so easy now." Aiyanna's eyebrows raised as he spoke more and more emphatically.

Aiyanna turned her head away from him. He quickly moved to still be in her line of sight. She looked at him haughtily and said, "Even if I should choose to do so, he would not gain that much control over my people. You know the nobles would never allow it."

"Many of us are nobles," Nahele pressed. "Young nobles, but many of the older dryads have or are soon to withdraw into their trees, thanks to years of exhaustion from fighting the Winter. Soon the young nobles will outnumber the old. And if we worked from inside, making the nymphs visibly weak enough, they will feel that they must join with the Narnians for protection. And then all of Narnia together will be stronger than ever with a peaceful center."

"My parents would never allow me to marry him if they thought that it would lead to the lessening of dryad power," Aiyanna mused.

"But what do _you_ think, princess?"

"I… I think… I think I need to talk to my spies about their poor work if they never found out about your group," she said, evading the question.

"That's because about half of them _are_ our group," Nahele said. Aiyanna's eyes widened, but she took it in her stride. He quickly added, "They hide only this from you, and they were the ones most eager to tell you of our hopes, partially because they thought you would be useful and partly because they felt guilty about hiding this from you."

"Very well then. But I must insist you send me a list of my spies who are in your group," she said a bit frostily.

"I'll let you know the name of every single member of our group if you should join us," Nahele offered. Aiyanna's eyes shifted away from him as she thought it over.

"Or I could threaten to tell my parents of your involvement and have you banished," she mused. "Or of your other secret."

His sap ran cold. "You wouldn't," he said uncertainly. The princess had been unpredictable of late. She might appear kind and loving, but Nahele knew full well how dangerous she could be when she set her mind to it, having helped her with many of her plots.

"I might. And then again, might not."

"Princess, please! You hate war; we both know that! And marriage to the High King who seems to love you surely must be preferable to marrying me, since you know I could never love you as more than my close friend and future queen," he said, taking her hands into his.

"I think mayhap this has more to do with you not being interested in marriage," she said frostily.

"I was part of this group since before our betrothal," he insisted. "Princess, believe me!"

After a minute, he felt her relax and she smiled, "Of course I believe you; you are like family to me. And… there are worst things than being married to Peter and I too wish to see peace amongst us."

"So you're in?"

"No one must ever know I am a part of your plot," she sighed.

"True, that would be contrary to any chance of you marrying. Should we call of our betrothal now, or later?"

"Later. A little jealousy may work to our advantage. It shall make him all the more easily manipulated. But I may in the end have to divulge your secret to him. I do not think he will tell," she said briskly.

"What? Why?!" Nahele protested.

"So in the end, he does not think I love another. The four are a bit… hm how to put it… idealist about marriage, believing it to be for love, not a political strategy. Telling him your secret would assure him that we were not in love. But enough. Since my spies apparently are half yours as well, I am sure you have heard of my parents consorting with the likes of mercenaries?"

"Yes, they just hired the first one. What about it?" Nahele said. When he had first realized Aiyanna had spies on her parents he had been disturbed, but then he remembered how they had manipulated her when she was young and decided it probably was prudent of her to do so.

"Did they?" Aiyanna asked. "So soon…"

"The news came in naught three hours ago," he explained.

"Then I hope my spies too bring such news," she said, a threat implicit.

"They attempted to reach you before me," Nahele assured. "But you were otherwise occupied."

"Good, good. And the first mercenary?"

"One by the name of Taire. He plans on using his old acquaintance Darius whose nephew is squire to the High King," Nahele informed.

Aiyanna paused. "Darius? I prefer he be kept out of this if possible."

Nahele frowned. "Aiyanna? Why would you care about an Archenlander?"

"He helped me when several human males were harassing me," she explained.

"Either way though, Taire seems confident Darius will betray the High King," he said.

"He won't," Aiyanna said confidently. Nahele looked at her.

"Your spies inform you differently?"

"I have been interested in him for some time and have his every movement reported to me," Aiyanna said. "I know more than anyone about his secrets. Even Edmund's spies have yet to find out what mine have, that Darius secretly trains the two queens in combat. We have watched several of these sessions and conclude that he would never betray Queen Susan."

"Indeed?" Nahele asked, impressed. King Edmund's spies were absolutely renown. "How come our spies… never mind."

"I suppose then Neka and Chimalis are not in your group, for they are the ones who reported such things," Aiyanna mused. "I shall not use them for spy information helping your group."

"So have you began formulating a plan?" Nahele said with a slightly teasing tone.

"I need to amass more information before settling on plan," Aiyanna said seriously. "And I must meet with your group as a whole. My parents will not act for at least another month, and we must use this to our advantage. I shall meet with your group in a fortnight. In the meantime, do what you can to delay my parents and Taire in selecting other mercenaries for this work. We need some time first, if we are to use this to our advantage."

"How are we using this to our advantage?" Nahele asked. He hated when Aiyanna seemed to be several steps ahead of him. It used to not be this way when they were younger. But now he quickly got lost in her scheming.

"I will tell it your group," she said simply. "I must go now before anyone notices my absence."

He pressed a kiss to her fingers and melted back into the forest.

* * *

><p>Peter and Lucy had been out together for a ride when Lucy pointed out, "Peter, isn't that Aiyanna over there?" They quietly prodded their horses to get a closer look.<p>

"Who's that she's meeting with?" Peter whispered, a hint of bitterness in his voice. "Is that Lord Nahele?"

"I don't think I know him," Lucy whispered back. She didn't really remember what he looked like since he had been just one of the many dryads at Cair Paravel last time, but she certainly knew the name since Susan had told her the other day that Aiyanna was betrothed to him. They still had yet to tell Peter though…

"I'm going to go speak with them," Peter said darkly. He remembered how close Aiyanna and Nahele had been and if they were holding secret meetings – the possibility of a tryst subconsciously came to mind even though that was the last thing he wanted it to be…

"Are you sure you should?" Lucy said, noticing her brother's bad mood. At that, Nahele suddenly kissed Aiyanna' hand and left. Peter glared and nudged his horse forward towards Aiyanna who was headed back to the castle.

"Princess Aiyanna!" he called. She turned around, startled, but quickly smoothed out into a gracious smile.

"Yes, your majesty?" she said, inclining her head.

"What was _he _doing here?" Peter asked, a note of jealousy in his voice. He jumped of his horse.

"Pardon me, milord, but I was unaware of any reason why Lord Nahele would not be able to come here," Aiyanna said, evading the question. Lucy had thought Peter rude for asking, but now was intrigued why Aiyanna wouldn't want to answer.

"Lu, how about you go back to the castle?" Peter asked.

"No, I think –"

"_Lu_, how about you go back to the castle?" Peter stressed. She frowned, annoyed that he was all but commanding her around, but she rode back to the castle.

"I'll be headed back, too," Aiyanna said coolly.

"Not until you tell me why you were meeting him," Peter said, blocking her way.

"I simply missed him," Aiyanna lied.

"I thought the two of you were just friends," Peter said casually, trying to not sound petty.

"You don't know?"

"Know what?" Peter snapped.

"We are betrothed," Aiyanna said, her voice betraying no emotion.

Peter wasn't so good at hiding feelings and yelled, "What?"

"Betrothed. We and our parents found that the two of us would make an ideal match which all would benefit from."

"But… but… you… ideal match? Does that mean… that you don't love him?" Peter said almost hopefully.

"Since when is love essential in a political marriage? Nahele and I are fond of each other and shall make good partners," she said. She hoped that he would see this as a way in for him to be still interested in her.

"But why not wait for love?" he asked, distaste clear on his face. "Would you want your children to know that their parents do not love each other?"

"It never bothered me that my parents did not," Aiyanna said audaciously. Peter was at a loss for words, unsure how exactly one responds to a statement like that. Aiyanna crossed her arm and then sighed.

"But one should only marry if they're in love," Peter protested.

"Not if it's their duty to marry for the good of their people," Aiyanna said slowly.

"Maybe it's possible to do both," Peter insisted, before realizing what he said. The two both awkwardly looked at each other before quickly looking away.

"It's too late for me to find out," Aiyanna said wistfully. She knew Peter would catch onto the longing she put in her voice.

"Well, you never know," Peter said with a shrug. He grimly smiled. "I guess, well, I hope you and Lord Nahele can find love. I want you to be happy."

"Oh," Aiyanna said, frustrated that he seemed to be accepting that she was engaged. She decided to drop a teasing hint. "I know we won't. But that's alright."

"You can't know you won't fall in love with him," Peter said questioningly, unknowingly taking a step towards her.

Aiyanna smirked. "Oh, we _definitely _won't be."

"You sound so sure," Peter said with a frown.

"That's because I know something you don't," Aiyanna teased.

"What's that?" Peter asked.

"I believe I'm late for meeting with Susan. Farewell," Aiyanna said.

"But," Peter protested.

"Farewell," Aiyanna said, hurrying away, knowing that Peter was sure to try to find out what it was that made her so sure.

* * *

><p>A week later Aiyanna got a full report on the members of group. She was surprised to see how vast and informed their numbers were. When she saw who the members were, she was no longer so surprised that her spies, her parent's spies, and King Edmund's spies were in the dark about the group. Each of them had spies that were a part of this group. And they simply had so many well-placed members within Cair Paravel, the dryad realm, and naiad realm. They even had strategic members in Anvard. Some of them made her chuckle. Lord Tumnus? How in the world did anyone manage to convince him to keep a secret from Queen Lucy? And Sir Gliant, one of King Edmund's closest friends and confidant was involved? And the dryad who she had dismissed as an idiot, devout lackey of her father was apparently in on this as well. And almost all of the noble dryad youth she actually enjoyed being around were a part of this group, but that was not so surprising.<p>

A week before the day where the mercenaries were going to infiltrate Cair Paravel, Aiyanna left to meet with Nahele and the group. They had decided that they would work to cover this up until Aiyanna would begin dropping hints that she found out about something awful her parents had done so that the Pevensies would think of her as another victim. Then when the kidnapping plot failed thanks to this groups' secret involvement, the nymphs would be implicated and they would have key advisors on each side suggesting a strengthened treaty by having Aiyanna marry King Peter. Nahele believed that he could convince his family to not take offense at their betrothal ending.

"The mercenaries told the dryad king and queen that the two Narnian queens are better protected and that Peter is leaving for the Lone Islands. They plan to capture King Edmund," a dryad spy stated.

"Lucy actually won't be at Cair Paravel that day either," Tumnus added.

"Good. It's best that Edmund is the one captured. His spies are the most likely to find us out so it's better to have him out of the picture. And it will be easier to calm their anger at finding out that was the nymphs who paid the mercenaries if it is Edmund rather than one of the girls," Aiyanna stated emotionlessly.

"You're okay with this, right?" Nahele whispered to her. He knew she was likely to push aside her own emotions and didn't want her to feel uncomfortable. She nodded.

"I can make sure that King Edmund's guard is minimal," Sir Gliant confirmed.

"We need to convince them to send someone after the mercenaries who will be sure to find them," another said.

"The former mercenary Darius," Aiyana suggested. "My sources say that he was once friends with Taire who apparently plans to try to recruit him if he gets the chance."

"Perfect. And Taire's the most likely to get caught when they separate," a badger pointed out.

"If Darius gets information from Taire, he's sure to try to go after King Edmund to try to impress Susan," Aiyanna mused. "If not, an anonymous informant perhaps can give him information?"

"Perfect," Gliant said. "I can if that's the case."

"And Darius knows the ways of mercenaries, so he'll have the best chance of following them. But just in case, I'll be sure to accidently run into him and give him one of my blossoms so he can get information from trees and we'll be able to track him and aid if needed," she said.

"But won't your parents find out about that and get angry?" Nahele pointed out.

"As far as they know of, I believe some mysterious outside threat sent the mercenaries," she responded.

"And when do we the nymph leaders implicated? Not yet, for sure," a naiad asked.

"Not yet. Tumnus, work with me to hide any incriminating information?" Aiyanna asked, knowing the two of them had the best access to everything. He nodded gravely. "We'll have to wait for an opening for them to find out in a way that doesn't implicate any of our members."

"Aiyanna, you'll have to tell them when it's time. Pretend to be upset and torn and such," Tumnus said.

"Easily done. Just tell me when," she said. They talk over their plan further, covering every possible detail they could think of, especially how they were going to hide everything from the rulers on both sides. Aiyanna knew there was no backing down after this.

"Princess," Nahele whispered to Aiyanna when he got a moment to talk just with her. "King Edmund's spies have been following me."

"I hinted to Peter that something is hindering our ability to ever fall in love. I expect he asked Edmund to find out since I noticed his spies tracking my movements as well.

Suddenly, the handful of dogs started barking and one of them said, "I smell a human!"

A few minutes later, Lucy walked into the gathering.


	6. Secrets Revealed

"You still haven't told me what _that_ was all about," Lucy said crossly as they approached the castle. Mr. Tumnus had convinced Lucy to go back to the castle, but it seemed Lucy was still insistent on knowing what happened. At least the three of them walking back before telling her gave Aiyanna time to think.

"You can't tell _anyone,_ understand? It was an …. intervention to help someone," Aiyanna said.

"An intervention?" Lucy said dubiously.

"Yes," Mr. Tumnus cut in, trying to pretend he knew what Aiyanna was talking about. "An intervention is –"

"I know what the word means. What sort of … intervention?"

"Nahele… he… you know, it's his secret. I should not be the one to share it," Aiyanna insisted.

"I won't tell. Not unless it's dangerous," Lucy promised eagerly.

"Nahele… he's…" Aiyanna began, before whispering in her ear.

"What? But he's betrothed to you!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Because if he's married to me, no one would find out his secret. That's why you mustn't tell anyone!" Aiyanna insisted, even though she knew the secret would be out soon.

"I would never! But it's sad that he feels he must keep it secret," Lucy said solemnly. Aiyanna gave her a look of appreciation.

"On a completely different matter, I am going to spend some time with him," Aiyanna fibbed. She was glad to have a good excuse for being away from Cair Paravel when she needed to not be around during the kidnapping attempt so as not to be implicated. "He's been having a hard time of it."

"That completely makes sense," Lucy said, grasping her hands. "I'll cover for you."

* * *

><p>Everything went perfectly. A hawk came to tell Aiyanna that Darius seemed to be leaving and where to intercept him. She gave him a blossom, saving one petal. She claimed to give him the blossom to help him seek aid from the trees, but she used it herself to always know where he was. And eventually, hopefully Edmund's location. The saved petal could be used to give others to track him. They planned to give it to Susan, although they had no guarantee she'd go after them. But it was all rather likely she would … especially if she had a reason to travel in that direction. Thankfully, they had an Archenlander courtier on their side who convinced King Lune to invite Susan to their court.<p>

Aiyanna conveniently "just happened" to run into Susan as she was preparing to travel.

"Queen Susan! Where are you off to?" Aiyanna asked innocently.

"Archenland," she said absentmindedly.

"I heard … rumors that the mercenaries who have your brother are in Archenland. You're going there yourself?" she asked.

"No, I'm off to Anvard. King Lune invited us there; we must go to keep up the pretense that nothing is wrong. Our troops are already on their way to the port where the mercenaries are taking him," Susan said.

"But if Darius intercepts them first…" Aiyanna mused.

"Then we have no clue where they will be," Susan said, upset.

Aiyanna paused for a bit, acting as though she was thinking and suddenly came up with an idea. "Susan! I still have… take this! This petal will lead you to my blossom which Darius has."

Susan turned and hugged Aiyanna eagerly. "Oh, Ana! I always know I can depend on you!"

"Mhmm," Aiyanna said, not wanting to straight up say yes.

It was strange to think that these parts were the easy parts. What was next could easily blow up in everyone's faces. It seemed Susan had met up with them, but they were staying in Anvard for some time. Peter had just returned from a trip to the Lone Islands, meaning both Lucy and Peter would be there. Aiyanna wasn't sure which one of them to approach. Lucy was generally sweeter to everyone, but Peter was still sweet on her.

In the end, she ended up accidently approaching both of them at the same time.

"Aiyanna! What's wrong?" Peter exclaimed as she stumbled into his room, her eyes green as dryads' eyes turn from crying. Lucy had been in there as well and rose, startled.

"I- I – I just found out… who sent those mercenaries," she choked out, pretending to be distraught.

"Who?" Peter asked eagerly.

Aiyanna continued crying and looking at the floor. She eventually looked up, dramatically and slowly said, "My parents."

"Wh-What?" Lucy asked, shocked.

"Were you part of this?" Peter accused.

"No! Why do you think it upset me so much to find this out?!" Aiyanna exclaimed, feigning being hurt by the accusation.

"Sorry, Ana," Peter said sheepishly.

Aiyanna breathed out, relieved that he believed her lie.

"But Ana, we can't just over look this! This is an act of war!" Peter said frustrated, running his hand through his hair and pacing around the room. "My brother might die because of this!"

"Some of the younger dryads want the dryad realm and Narnians to grow closer," Aiyanna pleaded. "A treaty? At least, let's try? Remember, I was the one who gave Susan a way of finding where Edmund is and gave Darius a way of getting help tracking the mercenaries. His life might be endangered by my parents, but may be saved by my actions."

"You're right. I'll try to work something. Especially since a war like this would invite foreign countries to attack while we are too busy fighting each other," Peter said, staring out the window. "But will your parents be receptive at all?"

Aiyanna hid a smile. So far, so good. He was playing right into her hands.

"I have no idea," she answered.

"We need to confront them," Peter said, glancing at Lucy.

"Somewhere neutral. Where it won't seem so much like an attack," Lucy mused.

"By the beach further south?" Aiyanna suggested. "It's possible the naiads were told about this as well… even though they didn't even tell me… so it'll be convenient for them. And no plants grow on sand, especially not trees. And there are parts of the beach where no Narnians live."

"Perfect," Lucy agreed. "You'll be there too, right Aiyanna?"

"It would seem quite strange if I wasn't," she agreed. She glanced towards Peter and added, "Would also seem strange if Nahele wasn't."

Peter pursed his lips, but only said, "But of course."

"We look forward to seeing him again!" Lucy said eagerly. Peter gave her a sharp look. His opinion of Nahele had clearly not changed at all. But sweet Lucy couldn't hate Nahele, even for her brother. Lucy noticed Peter's look and frowned disapprovingly. "If Aiyanna is friends with Nahele, then he's our friend as well."

Peter looked at her incredulously, but said nothing.

* * *

><p>Aiyanna was rather nervous the day they all met up. She played it off to her parents that she was nervous about what her Narnian royal friends were insisting upon meeting with them for.<p>

"Princess, I convinced your parents to have Adahy be here as well," Nahele whispered. "He doesn't know of our plans other than that we may have to divulge our secret to have you marry the High King since I didn't want him to get in trouble if we somehow get found out. But he'll say the secret instead of me."

"Perfect. I and a few of the other well positioned dryads arranged for about half the dryads to be ones from our group. And Mr. Tumnus was in charge of selecting the Narnians, so all Narnians who are in the know are here," Aiyanna whispered back.

After niceties and such had been exchanged, Peter got straight to the point. "We have on the best authority, information that your majesties paid the mercenaries who captured our royal brother."

"So what is this then, High King?" dryad King Ahiga said bluntly, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "A declaration of war?"

Aiyanna was glad they didn't press Peter for who the informant was.

"War would benefit neither us nor you," Peter said sternly. "Although, should it come to such, we would have the upper hand, so we would think you would prefer less drastic measures as well."

Negotiations flew back and forth, them getting nowhere. The main issue was that neither side had any insurance the other would hold up their end of anything. Finally, Aiyanna signaled to a badger to say his part. He spoke up saying, "Your majesties, perhaps a political alliance of another sort would be possible and bring the two realms closer. A political marriage, mayhaps?"

"We would be willing to send our Prince Yuma to Cair Paravel to court either of the Narnian queens," Queen Amitola suggested, eager for the prince to marry above himself, since he was unlikely to ever rule in the dryad realm.

Lucy looked less than happy about that. "Such a match, however, by Narnian tradition would only occur if both persons enter it fully willingly."

"But of course," King Ahiga drawled. "But that still leaves us with the need for some sort of agreement until such a time that a marriage alliance may occur."

"Or our betrothal can be broken off should Princess Aiyanna wish to enter an alliance with one of the Narnian kings," Nahele said boldly. They had agreed it would cause less tension in the dryad community if he was the one to offer. As it was, everyone grew silent and the atmosphere quickly got tense.

"That… that would be an agreeable alliance with us," Peter said nervously, hardly believing there was a chance. He had long given up on Aiyanna and moved on. In fact, he figured she was going to reject it without a second thought.

"By dryad custom, one cannot end an engagement without good reason," King Ahiga said, frowning when he realized that Aiyanna hadn't protested the possible end to her engagement.

"This could be considered good reason," Aiyanna suggested calmly. She knew it wouldn't work, but she wanted her father to say the possible reasons out loud.

"Not one for the end to an engagement! Reasons must be something about one of the members of the betrothal! Such as a secret not known before that would come between them, or an act of betrayal," Queen Amitola cut in. She might have been eager for Yuma to marry one of the queens, but Aiyanna marrying the High King – who was surely the one Aiyanna would chose and who would chose her – would lead to him gaining more control over the dryad realm. The betrothal to Nahele was meant to stop that possibility.

Lucy's eyes widened when she realized that Nahele's secret would help them there, but then she bit her lip, not wanting to divulge his secret. But Adahy, a rather handsome male dryad, was ready to tell it. "Pardon me, your majesties and all the rest of you, I have some pertinent information regarding that."

Everyone slowly turned to him, either wondering what he was going to say or in anticipation of the reaction that was sure to occur.

Nahele coughed and said, "_Adahy,_" pretending to not want him to speak.

"Nahele! They will find out sooner or later. Lord Nahele and I have been in a relationship for the last two years," he said firmly. Aiyanna glanced around at the faces. As anyone could have predicted, shock switching to disgust was on most faces. Some faces were bemused, a few steps behind what was happening. A few pitying looks, especially from Queen Lucy. Anger on her parents and a few others. Shock turning to an almost excited look on Peter's face, quickly disguised with a perfectly emotionless face. His young squire by his side looked confused by all the shocked faces around him. Aiyanna kept a surprised look on her face, pretending this was news to her. Nahele looked embarrassed, but that might have not been faked.

Aiyanna haltingly said, "Well… that's that… I guess."

"Ahem…So… we should get back to the possible political alliance?" Lucy said sweetly, purposely changing the topic as she saw the disgust and anger in the meeting.

Several voices, most of which were in their group chimed in, agreeing with the idea.

"Perhaps their highnesses should have a chance to speak privately?" Mr. Tumnus suggested.

"We will not have our daughter alone with a man," Queen Amitola said. Aiyanna was instantly annoyed with her mother. Like she really cared. It only mattered to her because the man happened to be Peter.

"Then Mr. Tumnus can serve as an escort," she suggested slyly.

Aiyanna's parent pursed their lips, but had nothing they could really say against that, so Aiyanna gestured towards another part of the beach and the two followed her.

"Did you know? About Nahele and whoever that was?" Peter asked the moment they were out of earshot.

"I knew the moment we first kissed that he was most definitely not into females," she said, amused.

"That bad?" he said with a grin.

"That awkward," she said, laughing a little.

"But… do you actually… I wouldn't want us to end up in a loveless marriage," he said kindly.

"We're both royalty. We're lucky to even have a chance to be betrothed to someone we know and care about at all," Aiyanna pointed out.

"Yes… but we both have the fortunate ability to have some control over who we marry," Peter pointed out.

Aiyanna had absolutely no clue how to respond to that. She had always grown up with the assumption that she would arrange the most politically advantageous marriage she could. Actual romantic interest would only be a small consideration, if any at all. After a moment of awkward silence, Aiyanna said, "Well, let's see if we think there's any chance of us falling in love eventually."

"Wh – " Peter began, cut off by Aiyanna grabbing him by the collar and kissing him passionately. He quickly forgot what he was saying and wrapped his arms around her.

"Whoa," Peter said after they finished when Mr. Tumnus coughed pointedly.

"Indeed," Aiyanna said with a small smile. She hadn't expected to actually enjoy that so much.

"Just wondering though, when you agreed to marry Nahele… why?" Peter asked.

"I eventually got him to admit to being in love with Adahy. But in dryad culture, that just… it's just never been accepted. So I offered to marry him, which politically was a decent idea to begin with. But either way, if he had another wife, she probably would want him to you know… have kids with her and such," she explained. "Whereas I knew and understood him. And unbothered by his preference for males."

"But… wouldn't someone have eventually noticed that you weren't doing um… you know what… together? I mean it would be suspicious when you didn't have children," he said.

Aiyanna stared at him blankly. "What do you mean?"

Mr. Tumnus frowned. "Wait, you didn't know?"

"Know what?" Peter asked sharply. "What haven't you told me now?"

"I… I just assumed you knew. I mean, most everyone does. It's literally the meaning of my name," she said.

"I thought your name meant eternal blossom," he said slowly.

"Yes, always a blossom… never bearing fruit or becoming a flower. Peter, I'm infertile," she said.

Peter's eyes widened. "What?!"

"Does… does that change your mind?" Aiyanna asked, not expecting that to be a problem.

"It… it might …" he said slowly.


	7. Un-fairytale Ending

"Would you be opposed to having children though? Adopted I mean," Peter asked anxiously.

"Ah… but by Narnian law, your successors must be of your blood," Mr. Tumnus said fretfully. Aiyanna shot him a look. Bringing that up wasn't going to help their cause. But he quickly fixed it with, "So you can adopt, but the royal lineage would transfer to any one of your siblings."

"Which one?" Peter asked with a frown. "Or would it be whichever child was born first?"

"It would be arguable, so you would be able to decide the lineage among them, more or less," he said nervously.

"That's actually good… then we can wait and see which ones seem the best fit for a future king or queen," he mused. "So, what do you say, Ana?"

"I fear I'd make a horrible mother… I guess I've never imagined myself as a mother," she said.

"I've always imagined myself as a father," he said slowly.

"I… I guess I'm not opposed. As long as you don't have too high expectations of me as a mother," Aiyanna said with a shrug. "Dryad families aren't close in the ways humans are. But living with you, I'll eventually get used to human ways, so maybe I could be someday."

"Er… I kinda already know what children I want to adopt," he said, awkwardly scratching his head.

"Ah… who?" Aiyanna asked, intrigued.

"My squire and his sisters. Their mother just died at the hands of one of the mercenaries your parents hired," Peter said sadly.

"I'm so sorry."

"Not your fault," Peter said brusquely. "But, that's why I want to adopt them. That is, if their uncle isn't adopting them."

"No father?"

"Left when they were little," Peter explained.

Aiyanna wasn't too familiar with that idea. Trees couldn't exactly leave easily. "Well, what I know of them, they seem like darling children. So if their uncle agrees, then let's offer. But, let me offer. So they know I do not plan to try to replace their mother."

"Does letting you offer mean you'd offer it in a way that they'd be sure to say no?" Peter asked suspiciously.

"Would I do something as manipulative as that?" Aiyanna protested, even though the answer was of course she would be that manipulative, even if she didn't plan to in this situation. But Peter didn't see her that way.

Mr. Tumnus snorted, but covered it with a cough.

"No, of course not," Peter said.

"So… should we go back and announce this?" Aiyanna asked.

"I guess so," Peter said awkwardly. "Wow… we're engaged."

"Yes," Aiyanna said awkwardly. After a moment of awkward silence, they both began laughing randomly, although Aiyanna had to force it a little.

"This is rather weird," he admitted. "I always figured I'd court a girl for quite some time before marrying her."

"And our betrothal will have to be short as well. My parents seem unhappy, so we should marry before they come up with ways to stop it," she said.

"Susan and Ed are still at Anvard in Archenland right now," he said.

"Then as soon as they return," she decisively said.

"Wha-What?"

"As soon as they return. So no one can try to stop it," Aiyanna said.

"Susan will kill me if she can't plan it," Peter said. He was really just looking for excuses now. This was way too fast for him. He was much more emotionally tied up in this. Aiyanna saw everything much more scientifically, just another step on her path. But for once, also something that made her happy. She was actually looking forward to it.

"She'll survive. I'm sure she'll be happy that we're actually finally getting married. And that we're narrowly evading a war," she pointed out.

"I guess, but –" Peter began, but Aiyanna cut him off with a kiss, making him forget what he was saying. _That's a rather handy tool_¸ she thought. _And not nearly as unpleasant as most tools…_

"Let's return and tell everyone the happy news. Then you to Cair Paravel and I to the woods to make our respective announcements. I will return tonight so we can work on preparing for the marriage," she said.

"Yeah… whatever you say," Peter said, a little dazed by her impulsive kiss.

When they told the assembly there, Aiyanna gulped. Judging by just these dryads' reactions, telling everyone back in the forest would be horrid. The only ones who looked appropriately happy were those in the secret group. A few dryads had the courtesy to hide their reactions, but some looked downright angry. Peter had the easy job, seeing as the Narnians looked excited for him.

As soon as they were out of earshot of the Narnians, King Ahiga said, "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that we cannot afford a war against them! A few forest fires and we would be through! And there is no one the High King cares about more than his siblings, so this kidnapping was sure to lead to that. And with me living in Cair Paravel, I am our insurance against not only this possibility of war but any future possibilities. Unless, of course, you were aiming for us to be annihilated?" she said slyly. She could see some becoming suspicious of her parents. She felt a twinge of guilt about it – they were her parents after all – but didn't feel nearly as bad as she should.

"Of course not!" her mother said. "But we do not want our precious girl marrying a questionable human."

_Oh, like you really care about that,_ she thought angrily. "Questionable? In what way? He has long made his intentions towards me clear, that of a proper courtship and marriage, not the ways of a scoundrel."

Her mother's leaves bristled, but merely said, "I suppose so."

Aiyanna glanced at Nahele who grinned back. It looked like her parents were letting the issue go for now. Or at least are no longer talking about it in front of others. They were sure to eventually make some move though, so Aiyanna wasn't going to let down her guard. Aiyanna slipped backwards in the group so she could whisper to Nahele.

"I'll find my family and tell them before the announcement. Then you will not see me again. I doubt I am welcome at the dryad court any longer," he whispered.

"But your tree. What if they should attack it in retribution? Or Adahy's?" she asked furtively.

"We both live near Cair Paravel. We will beg the High King's protection," he whispered. "You'll convince him from your end too I hope?"

"Of course. He'll listen to me," she whispered.

"Aiyanna!" her father called, noticing she was speaking with Nahele. She quickly moved back to the front of the group, not wanting his attention and anger to be directed at Nahele.

* * *

><p>Later that day, messengers had been sent to every dryad grove, having each one send a representative to the dryad court. A lord announced her, and she stepped to face them.<p>

"My people, my betrothal to Lord Nahele has been invalidated. In light of this problem, I have accepted another proposal. I am to marry the High King of the Narnians, King Peter," she announced. Angry murmurs began through the court. She took a steadying breath and continued. "Actions taken by representatives of the dryad court made a war with the Narnians near inevitable. I am your indemnity against a war which we do not have the forces to guarantee success."

There will still more murmurings, but no one spoke up. Aiyanna quickly backed down before anyone could say anything or question it. The moment she could, she hastened to Cair Paravel. She knew she was running away, but didn't care. She was actually rather glad that the younger generation of dryads seemed to be changing. Which was saying something because trees rarely changed much. Sure, seasons come and go regularly, but that only changed their colors, not their essence. Maybe her generation and the Narnians would finally have real peace. And the dryad court would no longer be a manipulative force but a welcoming, friendly solace.

"Ana!" Lucy cried out the moment she burst into Peter's room.

"Ana! You came!" he said, almost surprised.

She gave him a strange look. "Of course I came. I told you I would."

"I guess I didn't completely believe this is happening," he said. He got up and walked over to her, taking her hands into his. She smiled, leaned in, and kissed him on the cheek in the traditional manner of dryad courtship.

"Ah! You two are adorable!" Lucy squealed. "Now let's get this thing planned. I'm actually rather glad this will be so quick. It'll keep Susan from being able to make a huge deal about it."

"What are all these books about?" Aiyanna asked, looking around.

"Books of dryad marriage customs. And of previous marriages between Narnian royals and dryads," Lucy explained.

"It seems like you have it covered," Aiyanna said hopefully.

"Really, Ana? Do you not want to plan your own wedding?" Lucy said disapprovingly.

"No, not really. I'm going to be happy about what comes after," she said, meaning the peace between their people. But apparently Lucy thought she meant something else.

"I think I'll just grab these books and leave the two of you alone," Lucy said, inching out of the room. When neither of them acknowledged her, she quickly left, closing the door behind her.

"We should figure out our relationship. What I said before… about dryads worrying about you taking power?" Aiyanna began.

"I promise, this marriage changes nothing. We will not take any power from you," he said, slipping into the royal we accidentally.

She intertwined her fingers into his. "I just wanted to say, I think that was more my parents talking then than my own views. I trust you."

"Really?" he asked, looking genuinely surprised. Aiyanna did mean it though. Mainly because Peter's face was an open book. If he had a secret, she'd know instantly.

"Yes. Nahele also tells me –"

"Nahele?" Peter repeated, looking disappointed by hearing his name. Aiyanna really didn't understand his… jealousy?... After all, Nahele was most certainly not interested in her. They had clarified that.

"Yes, Nahele. He tells me some of the younger dryads, those our age, want to foster better relationships with the Narnians," she explained. That was the closest she ever planned on telling him about her plans. "Speaking of Nahele, has he spoken to you yet?"

"No. He came asking to petition us for something, but we told him to wait," Peter said with a frown.

"Peter!" Aiyanna said, lightly slapping him playfully to get his attention. "It's urgent!"

"I don't particularly care to speak with your previous betrothed," he said, his face growing hard.

"He and Adahy wouldn't need to petition for you if today hadn't happened. They are part of those who want friendship. That's why Adahy spoke up today. They could have been safe in their secret relationship if they had remained silent. I would not have betrayed Nahele's confidence. But since they did for our sake, they are now in grave danger," she said furiously.

"What?!" Peter exclaimed. "How?"

"Did you not see the reactions? Dryads aren't exactly good at adapting to changes, and accepting Adahy and Nahele as a couple would be quite a lot of change," she said.

"Mhmm, it's not considered appropriate in human culture either," he said slowly.

Aiyanna pulled away. "I figure you would be understanding!"

"I am! Well, I don't quite understand the attraction. I've never been attracted to males personally. But I don't really care if other are. But how can I help?"

"Their trees reside by Cair Paravel. They came to ask for your protection," she said.

"I will hear their petition and grant that boon then," he said decisively. "And pass the instructions onto the generals."

She kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you, Peter."

"I've noticed… you've started calling me Peter," he said, changing the subject. "I rather like it."

"Well, we are betrothed now," she said with a small smile.

* * *

><p>Several days later, Peter told Aiyanna that the children's uncle thought they would be better for adopting the children than he would. Aiyanna was actually rather nervous about facing the children. How exactly does one tell children you had no plan to replace their mother, but you essentially were?<p>

"Pheneus, Bria, Helena," she said slowly to the three children. She had made sure to learn all their names and about them before this moment. It seemed to mean a lot to Peter, so it meant a lot to her. If they were going to be married, they best start acting as partners. She knew Peter would make her priorities his, so she was making his priorities hers as well. "Peter and I have something to ask you."

"Then why isn't he here?" Pheneus asked with a frown.

"Who's Peter?" the littlest one asked.

"The High King," Pheneus whispered to her.

"Anyways, with your mother gone, you need to figure out where you're going to live," she said nervously. She then bit her lip. That probably wasn't the best way to start. By the mane, it was so much easier for her to manipulate adults than it was for her to convince children of anything.

"You mean an orphanage?" Bria cried out. "Like Mother and Uncle Darius?"

"Um… that's one option. But that doesn't have to be it," she said. She was beginning to curse herself for insisting she ask them. She was horrible with speaking to children.

"Then what?" Pheneus said suspiciously.

"You could stay here. Ah… I'm sure you've heard that Peter and I are getting married," she began. They nodded, so she continued, "We can't adopt you as in make you our heirs, but we can adopt you as our children."

"No!" Bria suddenly said, jumping to her feet. "I don't want you! I want Mother back!"

Her brother pulled his sister's arm to get her to sit back down. "Your highness, we rather not forget our mother," he said politely. Aiyanna was taken aback by the young boy's polished manner until she remembered he was Peter's squire and therefore probably had lessons on it.

"I won't be your mother," she assured. "I could never replace her. In fact, how about if we do adopt you, you all call me Ana? That way we'll be more like friends really."

"That's better than calling you mother," Pheneus said slowly, looking at his younger sisters. "And we all really like living here… and the High King and his siblings…"

"But you don't know me or particularly like me?" Aiyanna said bluntly. "It's alright to say; you won't hurt me by saying it."

"You seem nice," the youngest one said, lifting her arms up. Aiyanna glanced at Pheneus, unsure what to do.

"She wants you to pick her up," he whispered. Aiyanna looked back at the small child and carefully picked her up. Little children were apparently heavier than they looked. She placed the child on her lap, unsure exactly what to do with a little girl. Dryad saplings were rarely so forward with strangers, so this was an entirely new experience for her. Some of friends had saplings of their own, but she hadn't bothered getting to know the children. Thank Aslan Peter was much more comfortable around children and would be able to help her.

"So… do you need some time to think it over?" she asked anxiously.

"I like you," Helena said, pinching Aiyanna's face. She could only figure that pinching was a friendly gesture. She really, really was out of her element here.

"I like you as well," she said.

"Bria?" Pheneus whispered to his other sister.

She shrugged and said, "You won't ever replace Mother."

"Of course not," Aiyanna agreed.

"But you seem nice… Ana," Bria said shyly.

"Then yes!" Pheneus said with a grin. The two children not already on her lap bombarded her with hugs. She was rather overwhelmed. Humans were just so much more demonstrative than dryads. Pheneus suddenly grew shy and asked, "Do you think the High King will be a father though? I… I kind of already see him like that..."

"Of course! And how about you start calling him Peter instead of 'the High King'?" she said. "Or even maybe father, but I'm not so sure about that."

"Oh… right," he said. "I always wanted a father. But… I'll feel more comfortable calling him Peter. "

"We've always wanted fathers too," the girls piped up. Aiyanna wasn't sure whether to feel touched or hurt. She found it adorable that they wanted Peter as their father… she couldn't help but feel a little jealous though that they certainly didn't feel the same way about her as a mother. But then again, she never cared about having kids, so she didn't care… at least she didn't think she did.

* * *

><p>The day of her wedding filled both Aiyanna and Peter with more apprehension than it should have had. So far, nothing had gone wrong. Which made them all the more anxious that something as bound to go wrong that day. Especially once Aiyanna finally told her parents that this was the big day. They didn't take that well, but their surprise meant they probably weren't ready to do anything to stop it. And sure enough, they didn't interfere. And they were smart enough to pretend to be pleased with it now that it was inevitable. But it wasn't until the wedding and her Narnian coronation gave way to a ball that Aiyanna and Peter finally breathed in relief.<p>

"I'm so glad this all worked out," Peter said softly to her as they slowly danced, him executing the moves expertly rather than the jerky, mistaken movements he made at his coronation.

"Same here," Aiyanna said, genuinely happy about it. "Even my parents seem happy, even if they are faking it."

"Maybe they are actually happy?" Peter asked. "Susan said she overheard them saying nice things."

"Who, my parents?" Aiyanna said dubiously.

"They said the wedding was well-presented and the decorations were quite lovely," he said.

"That's quite a compliment coming from them," she commented. "Especially if they didn't think they had anything to gain from the compliment."

"Or maybe your parents aren't as bad as you make them out to be," Peter suggested. "Just as I'm not as bad as they made me out to be to you."

"That's completely different," Aiyanna snapped. She softened and said, "Can we please stop talking about them? Talk about our future instead. Here, at Cair Paravel."

"Whatever you wish, my most beautiful lady," he said gallantly.

"By the way, did you hear what people are calling you? 'the Magnificent'," she said.

"Makes me sound conceited," he joked. "Can't say it's not flattering though. I rather like it."

Aiyanna giggled.

"And you! I've heard that many dryads are interested in making you the High Queen over the dryads," he said.

"They talk about that with every ruler," she said dismissively. "But

Later that night, she found herself with the centauride Fleurstream. "Your majesty, I must speak you privately. I had hoped to speak with you before the wedding actually."

"Of course," she said. They slipped to a side room while others were distracted by seeing Queen Susan dancing with some Telmarine prince who had happened to attend. That was quite juicy gossip seeing as he was her suitor, but Aiyanna knew she found the prince to lack any sort of personality, making Susan so disinterested that she and Lucy literally referred to him as "Prince Boring" behind his back. So she must be just humoring him. But it distracted everyone from noticing the bride disappear.

"What is it?"

"I wanted to warn you before the wedding, but I will warn you know. I have seen a vision. Dark times are ahead. No one today can do anything. But I have seen the proclamation of a savior in the stars," she said.

"Well, that's good," Aiyanna said slowly, wondering where this was going.

"The savior will not be born for at least a millennia," the centauride explained.

"And the dark times? Are they to come soon?" she asked.

"If the High King and his royal siblings stay in Narnia, the dark times will be delayed, but will happen nonetheless once they all fall in battle. The stars spell disaster. But if they leave Narnia, dark times will come sooner, but they will live to fight another day," she said.

"How?"

"Their world's time will work differently. It will keep them young and able to fight for Narnia again," she said. "And the savior can only succeed with their help."

Aiyanna's heart sank more than she thought it would. "So they must leave. And they would never voluntarily leave Narnia, so I must somehow trick them into doing so. Must they leave now?"

"You too have magic," the centauride said, taking Aiyanna's hand and tracing the veins in it. "It will warn you of when it must be." Aiyanna reached out with her magic, but could feel no warning. She was relieved to know it would still be some time before she had to force her newly-wed husband to leave her.

"Then I will make sure we secure Narnia's future. Even if it means darkness for over a thousand years. And I can… and will secure it farther. There is a spell. It would protect the dryads from most outside forces and help the Narnians. If I convince the dryads to let me cast a spell to bind them to their trees for at least a thousand years, we will awaken so connected to our trees that even our trees can fight for Narnia."

"I only meant to warn you, because it means you will lose your husband. The dryads have never cared to fight for Narnia," the centauride said, giving her a strange look.

"Not once I rule over the dryads. And with a common enemy will unite Narnians and the dryads, more than the unity today showed. We will rise for Narnia," she said, a determined glint in her eye.

**The end! Sort of. My story ****_The Mercenary_**** will barely go past these events, but I'm planning on writing a sequel which will involve Aiyanna as a reoccurring character, so hopefully some of you will read that! That story will occur around the events of ****_The Horse and His Boy, _****bit without changing that plot****_._**** Aiyanna's role will increase as it gets closer and closer to the time for the Pevensies to leave Narnia. And yes, how she orchestrates a White Stag and such will absolutely be in the story. **

**Thank you to everyone who read, favorited, followed, and/or reviewed this story! **


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